Above and Below is a ferocious hybrid of action, crime, and shark‑survival thriller. A routine shark diving excursion off the coast of Mexico spirals into a harrowing fight for survival when a group of divers becomes trapped between ruthless criminals above and circling predators in the depths below.
Directed by Jesse V. Johnson and written by Anthony Steven Giordano (also credited as Tony Giordano), the film is shaped by Johnson’s long‑standing fascination with high‑risk environments and Giordano’s interest in stories where human desperation collides with natural danger.
The film draws clear inspiration from real‑world cartel smuggling routes along the Mexican coastline and from the enduring cinematic tradition of ocean‑bound survival narratives, but it pushes these influences into a heightened, horror‑tinged register. The film uses the ocean not as a backdrop but as an active antagonist, a shifting, predatory force that mirrors the brutality of the criminals hunting the protagonists.
DIRECTOR Q&A
What drove you to tell the story and where did you draw inspiration from?
I was immediately drawn to the script because it didn’t just present a credible threat beneath the ocean—it also offered layered, compelling characters. That was the key for me. Too often, creature features fail because the human element feels flat or underwritten. I’ve watched a huge number of films in the genre, and the common thread is always the same: if I’m not invested in the characters, the creature doesn’t matter—no matter how realistic it looks. On the other hand, even a less convincing creature can be terrifying if the audience truly cares about the people on screen. That became both my challenge and my inspiration. At every stage, I wanted the characters to feel like they had something deeper going on—personal stakes, hidden motivations, and emotional complexity—so that fear was only one layer of what was driving them.
Tell us about the process of bringing the sharks to life.
For me, it was never just about making the sharks frightening. The real goal was to ensure that the fear of the sharks was only one part of a much larger emotional and narrative landscape. Each character needed an additional layer—an ulterior motive, a personal conflict, or a deeper reason for being there—so that their reactions to the sharks were shaped by more than just survival instinct. Fear became a factor, but not the sole driver. That balance helped elevate the tension and made the encounters feel more meaningful.
What do you hope audiences will take away from the film?
Above all, I hope audiences feel thrilled, scared, and entertained—it’s meant to be an intense, immersive journey. But beyond that, the film isn’t really about superhuman heroes or unstoppable predators.
At its core, it’s about what people do to each other under pressure. The real danger isn’t just beneath the surface—it’s within human nature itself. It’s also a story about resilience: about ordinary people finding strength in extraordinary circumstances and overcoming adversity in the bleakest environments.
Ultimately, it’s a human story. And I hope it resonates on a level that goes beyond simple shock or spectacle.
The story follows five friends on what begins as a carefree Mexican holiday filled with parties and deep‑sea diving.
Their adventure turns catastrophic when they accidentally discover a cache of cartel cocaine during a shark‑dive excursion. The cartel ambushes them, forcing two of the group — Tatiana, played by Laura Marano, and Kaley (portrayed by Christina Ochoa) — into a submerged shark cage and ordering them to retrieve a bag of drugs from the ocean floor. As they descend into the depths, they face not only the armed criminals above but the legendary Great White sharks circling below, creatures rendered with a primal, mythic intensity. With oxygen dwindling and the cartel tightening its grip, Tatiana and her friends must outwit both human predators and the ocean’s apex hunters in a brutal fight for survival.
The cast blends seasoned performers with rising genre actors. Antonio Banderas appears as Burns, a hardened figure whose presence adds gravitas to the escalating violence. Ramiro Alonso, Ryan Bertroche, Jess Liaudin, Timothy V. Murphy, Louis Mandylor, Diego Llinás, Rodrigo Poisón, Mario Tardón, and Donncha Tynan round out the ensemble, each contributing to the film’s tense, claustrophobic atmosphere. Their performances anchor the narrative in human fear and resilience, even as the film embraces the spectacle of underwater terror.
In its final form, Above and Below stands as a muscular, high‑stakes thriller that merges cartel violence with shark‑attack horror, using the ocean as a stage for escalating dread. Johnson’s direction emphasizes physicality and peril, while Giordano’s script keeps the characters trapped between two lethal forces — the criminals above and the predators below — creating a relentless, pressure‑cooker narrative that drives the film toward its explosive conclusion.
Visit our YouTube Channel
